This copy is for your personal non-commercial use only. To order presentation-ready copies of Toronto Star content for distribution to colleagues, clients or customers, or inquire about permissions/licensing, please go to: www.TorontoStarReprints.com

Both the mayor and his brother were invited to file complaints with the press council so they could participate, but both had not as of Friday evening. The hearing would have been an opportunity for the Fords to comprehensively refute the allegations in a public forum.

Article Continued Below

Calls and emails to Mayor Ford’s staff and Councillor Ford were not returned Sunday.

The May 16 story by Star reporters Robyn Doolittle and Kevin Donovan describes a cellphone video of Ford smoking what appears to be crack cocaine and making racist and homophobic remarks. The reporters watched the video three times and took notes separately.

The mayor has not addressed the allegations in detail. Days after the story ran, Ford told reporters “these allegations are ridiculous. This is another story with respect to the Toronto Star going after me.”

Following complaints by 41 readers, many of them anonymous, the press council announced last month that it would hold public hearings on the stories. The complainants and representatives of the Star and the Globe will speak at the hearings held at Ryerson University.

The press council will not examine the truthfulness of the allegations, only whether they were responsibly reported.

Star editor Michael Cooke said he welcomed the opportunity to defend the paper’s reporting and publicly discuss its newsgathering practices.

“Any time we have an opportunity to talk about and debate journalism, we welcome it,” he said. “Accuracy and fairness is our bread and butter. And transparency is one of our most important values.”

The press council, a 15-member body made up of community leaders and representatives of news organizations, does not have any legal authority. Instead, its role is to promote proper journalistic practices and ethical principles, director Don McCurdy
wrote in a Star op-ed last week
.

“The Ontario Press Council exists to promote and protect free speech and freedom of expression, two rights Canadians should expect, but never take for granted,” he wrote.

It is unclear whether the Fords will attend as spectators. On their Newstalk 1010 radio show Sunday, they made no mention of the hearings.

The press council will examine issues including: whether the articles were in the public interest; whether adequate efforts were made to verify the allegations; and whether the mayor and his brother were given adequate time to respond and whether the response was published.

Paul Benedetti, co-ordinator of Western University’s journalism program, said it is unusual for the subject of the allegations not to make a complaint to the press council.

“In this case, it is peculiar,” he said. “If the Fords felt the Globe story was unfair to the family, and if the Ford brothers thought the Star story was unfair, it’s surprising that they did not file the press council complaint.”

Benedetti, who followed the Star and Globe stories closely and has dealt with the press council in the past, said it was clear to him that the Fords were given ample time to respond.

“I think Rob Ford had an inordinate number of opportunities to respond to the allegations and simply chose not to. Doug Ford, similarly, there were statements in the Globe piece that attempts to contact the family repeatedly were turned away.”

Following the hearings, the council will deliberate privately and issue a written decision that the news outlets will be required to publish in full.

Bruce Gillespie, editor of the Canadian media criticism website
J-Source
, said the hearings give the Star and Globe an opportunity to explain to the public why several sources were granted anonymity.

“I think there may be a sense among non-journalists that we, as journalists, give out anonymity willy-nilly,” he said. “Anonymity is a very thoughtful, greatly discussed option that journalists discuss with their editors as well.”

Both newspapers ran statements from their editors addressing these issues when the stories were published. But the hearings are a chance to explain in detail how such decisions are made, said Gillespie.

“My hope is that, out of these press council hearings we’ll get more public discussion about what goes into these kinds of stories,” he said.

“To me, that’s a good thing. The more transparent media outlets can be about their processes, the better.”

More from the Toronto Star & Partners

LOADING

Copyright owned or licensed by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited. All rights reserved. Republication or distribution of this content is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Toronto Star Newspapers Limited and/or its licensors. To order copies of Toronto Star articles, please go to: www.TorontoStarReprints.com